The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 is the primary federal law that governs the conduct of federal elections in the United States.

Election audits serve multiple purposes, including verifying the accuracy of election results, investigating allegations of voter fraud, and ensuring compliance with election laws.

Forensic audits are not typically conducted as part of election audits. They are more commonly used in criminal investigations.

The legal standard for determining whether a recount should be conducted varies from state to state.

State election officials are typically responsible for conducting election audits and recounts.

An audit is a process of verifying the accuracy of election results, while a recount involves manually recounting ballots to determine the correct winner of an election.

An election audit or recount can have a variety of consequences, including overturning the results of the election, declaring the election invalid, or ordering a new election.

Election audits and recounts can be costly, time-consuming, and prone to human error.

Best practices for conducting election audits and recounts include using a risk-limiting audit methodology, conducting a hand-count audit, and using independent auditors.

There have been a number of controversies surrounding election audits and recounts in recent years, including the 2020 presidential election audit in Arizona, the 2022 gubernatorial election recount in Georgia, and the 2022 midterm election audits in several states.

There are a number of proposed reforms to the legal framework governing election audits and recounts, including requiring risk-limiting audits for all elections, establishing a national standard for recounts, and providing more funding for election audits and recounts.

The courts can play a variety of roles in election audits and recounts, including ordering an audit or recount, overturning the results of an audit or recount, and declaring an election invalid.

There are a number of arguments in favor of election audits and recounts, including that they can help to ensure the accuracy of election results, prevent voter fraud, and increase public confidence in the electoral process.

There are a number of arguments against election audits and recounts, including that they can be costly and time-consuming, prone to human error, and undermine public confidence in the electoral process.